Salinas considering new approach for Chinatown homelessness problem

Talk to most people in Chinatown, and they’ll tell you it’s a community.

But it’s a community that’s dwindling.

On Monday, bulldozers moved in for another sweep.

“We have to go through this so many times,” Rita Acosta said.

She currently lives in Chinatown, the largest homeless encampment in Salinas.

According to the city of Salinas, the last two cleanups alone removed about 80 dumpsters worth of what the city calls garbage.

Salinas City Manager Ray Corpuz says their office constantly fields complaints about the area. The city hopes a new ordinance will lower those calls, and ultimately improve the area’s health and safety.

“What this ordinance does is provide the policy and authority to implement a 24 hour notice for property and removal of property in city streets, for example, sidewalks,” Corpuz said.

The ordinance would also cover private property next to public property, so first responders can get through.

Councilman Jose Castaneda says this ordinance isn’t the answer.

“It is enforceable, it is a misdemeanor,” Councilman Jose Castaneda said. “This is our most vulnerable group that we continue to advocate for. The chief of police has come out before saying homelessness is not a crime, yet now city council and the mayor are looking at an ordinance that will criminalize the homeless.”

The homeless wonder where they’ll go.

“Okay this is all we got left of our life out here,” Todd Fischer said. “Where are we going to go, I mean really.”

And with a strong El Nino forecast, they’re worried. Especially because he says resources are already stretched thin.

Fischer: “Like right now we only have one outhouse.”

Corpuz said Tuesday money is already committed for a shower facility and service center coming next year. But overall, it’s a tough issue to solve with little funding for affordable housing and the responsibility to keep the city sanitary.

“Our intent is really to address the health and safety of our community, but also understand there is a significant homeless problem that needs to be addressed,” Corpuz said. “Not just by the city of Salinas, but by the county of Monterey, and all of the service providers. It’s not something that I don’t believe any city has solved yet.”

He says they’ve been working with the Coalition on Homelessness to fine-tune the legislation, although the homeless say they wish they were more directly involved

Also part of the ordinance — homeless people would be able to reclaim their seized property.

City council will vote on the proposal on October 13.